Packet based data communications (e.g., IP traffic) is evolving from a best effort delivery system to a system for supporting applications that require a defined quality of service, at least in terms of latency and jitter. Currently, it is not possible to measure latency and jitter for actual user traffic in an operational packet forwarder, such as an IP switch or router.
Existing switches and routers do not support such measurements by injecting measurement information, such as timestamps. Test equipment vendors can provide accurate timestamps only by connecting test equipment to the interfaces under test and injecting test traffic. This requires expensive external equipment, is invasive in nature and is not an operational measurement as interfaces must be disconnected from the network and connected to the test equipment. Moreover, such a test configuration can only test the equipment under test—not a path through a network.
The present invention is therefore directed to the problem of developing a method and apparatus for enabling performance testing and measurement of individual network equipment, as well as a network path, in a true operational fashion.